Libya's 'Love Revolution': Muslim Dating Site Seeds Protest

[tabatha]

When Omar Shibliy Mahmoudi exchanged sweet nothings on the Muslim dating site Mawada, it wasn't for love but for liberty.

To avoid detection by Libyan secret police, who monitor Facebook and Twitter, Mahmoudi, the leader of the Ekhtalef ("Difference") Movement, used what's considered the Match.com of the Middle East to send coded love letters to rally the revolution.

It was "for the freedom, not for the marriage," he told ABC News.

The Libyan businessman turned opposition leader said he was never politically active before, but as he watched revolutions topple governments in neighboring countries, he knew he needed to act.

So he created a Mawada profile called "Where Is Miriam?" and pretended to be on the hunt for a wife.

..............

When Mahmoudi created his pretend profile on Mawada, he figured 50,000 supporters would be enough to take to the streets. But using various aliases on the dating site, he said he ended up with 171, 323 "admirers" by the time Libya's Internet crashed last Saturday.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/muslim-dating-site-madawi-seeds-libyan-revolution/story?id=12981938

[WhiteTara]

1. it only takes one person to act

to start a movement!

The saying about the wings of a butterfly on one side of the world can start a Tsunami in the other takes on new significance.